Doctors encourage a patient during making ward rounds in Zhangzhou Municipal Hospital in Zhangzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 2, 2020. Zhangzhou Municipal Hospital is a designated hospital to treat patients infected with the novel coronavirus in the city. It has started receiving patients with its emergency wards since Jan. 26 in a bid to fight against the virus outbreak. (Photo by Xiao Heyong/Xinhua)

The spread of novel coronavirus in Chinese mainland shows signs of further slowing down on Saturday as a record number of 18 provincial-level regions reported zero new infections. 

As of 24:00 on Friday, the daily new infections in regions outside of Hubei dropped to 31, the lowest in a month, according to China’s National Health Commission. 

Liaoning, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Jilin, Heilongjiang Fujian, Hainan, Jiangsu, Gansu, Guizhou, Ningxia, Qinghai, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang were among those that did not report any new cases, data has showed. 

Many other regions, such as Tianjin, Chongqing, Beijing and Guangdong, reported single digit new infections. 

Northeast China’s Liaoning Province on Saturday downgraded its first level emergency response to the third level, after the province reported zero new infections for five consecutive days. Liaoning is the second province in China to downgrade its emergency response level after Gansu Province did so on Friday.  

However, analysts have warned of more possible outbreaks as new infections were reported on Friday at congregated facilities, including prisons, hospitals and senior care homes. 

A total of 397 new confirmed cases across China were reported on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 76,288. Some 20,659 patients have been discharged from hospitals following recovery. 

The situation in Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan, also the epicenter of the outbreak, remained grim. Some 366 new cases were confirmed in Hubei on Friday, with 314 in Wuhan. 

The spread of the novel coronavirus has been partially curbed, and epidemic prevention and control measures have shown some effectiveness. But the inflection point of the outbreak has yet to be seen, given the still severe situation in Hubei, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Friday. 


Global Times